Tuesday, April 16, 2013

April 16th Game’s Results and Analysis

April 16th
Game’s Results and Analysis

Texas Rangers 4 -
Chicago Cubs 2

Winning Pitcher:
Holland (1-1) Losing Pitcher: Wood (1-1)

Save by Nathan (5)

Player of the Game:
Derek Holland

The Chicago Cubs lost their first interleague ball game of
the year with a score of 4 to 2. The Cubbies just didn’t manufacture enough
runs to pull out the victory; however they did make the game interesting as
they had the bases loaded in the ninth inning. Cubs starting pitcher Travis
Wood pitched a great game, which I will detail later, but was just outshined by
player of the game, Derek Holland. Because
Holland is a left-handed pitcher, he offered the Cubs a tough task because they
tend to do terribly against LHPs. The Rangers starter went seven scoreless
innings with 6 punch outs and allowed two hits in the game. The ex-Cub Jeff
Baker had a great game and had a RBI double in the game that gave the Rangers
the lead in the 4th inning. The Rangers scored the rest of their
runs in the top of the 8th. The Cubbies only scored two runs and
both came in the bottom of 9th off a double by pinch hitter Nate
Schierholtz.

Impressive: What impressed me in today’s game was Travis
Wood’s outing. Wood deserved to get a victory in this game because of how well
he performed in it. Wood went 7.1 innings allowing 2 earned runs on 5 hits and
3 walks. Travis Wood also struck out 3 Rangers in the game. The Cubs are
getting some great outings by the starting pitchers and all those outings
should be wins if the Cubbies could have just scored some more runs. If the
starting pitchers can keep up with how well they have started off the year then
the Cubbies will be hard to beat and can possibly have an impact in the
division.

Surprising: I was surprised with the Cubs comeback in the
ninth and it showed signs that they can be a threat in late innings. The Cubs
got all of their base runners on in the ninth with two outs. However, the Cubs left
the bases loaded in the ninth and would come out with a loss in their first
game against the Rangers in the series. I’m also surprised by the recent
transactions by the Cubs; the Cubbies just recently claimed veteran infielder
Cody Ransom off waivers from the San Diego Padres and the Cubs placed both Kameron
Loe and Kevin Gregg in their 25 man roster. I was surprised about the Ransom
move because the Cubs have Alberto Gonzalez, who has been performing well for
the Cubs and they have infielder Donnie Murphy in the minors. I wasn’t as
surprised to see Loe on the majors roster, but I was shocked to see Gregg
because he really hasn’t pitched this year yet. I thought maybe he would pitch
in some minor league games before being in the bullpen for the Cubbies.

Concerning: I’m really concerned with the bullpen for the
Cubs because the bullpen is just not reliable. Shawn Camp has been getting
rocked whenever he gets out on the mound and it could be argued that the
homerun that he gave up to Adrian Beltre cost the game for the Cubs. If the
Cubs can’t find a reliable arm out of the pen then the Cubs shouldn’t expect to
win many games this year. Another concern of mine is the Cubs lineup against
left-handed pitchers due to the fact that the Cubs just have a difficult time scoring
runs when they face a lefty. I want to see Nate Schierholtz and David DeJesus
in the lineup when there is LHP on the mound because I strongly believe they
can produce for the Cubs and they couldn’t do much worse than what Dave Sappelt
and Scott Hairston have done so far this season.